Live Review: Bradley Zero, Simon Caldwell

Vivid's collaboration with Goodgod Super Club this year again collapses the boundary between the Opera House's status as a high art institution and the promoter's interest in making art out of rave culture. For the opening night of Vivid, the Super Club (in the Sydney Opera House's downstairs Studio) plays host to Simon Caldwell and Bradley Zero.

Simon Caldwell is old hat in Sydney, those familiar with the scene would know that on an ordinary night he would not be listed in the middle of the setlist. Warming up the crowd, he shows as much: with chilled out house beats and his signature integration of soul samples, funk and techno the crowd is ready for what's about to come.

Then, enter Bradley Zero. Known around the world as the internet's tastemaker (a core programmer for Boiler Room), his addition to the line-up is a conscious nod at the evening's potential to set the stage for something new. Zero's gear is minimal: decks and a lot of vinyl. What sets him apart from other DJs (and solidifies his place in the realm of 'cultural highbrow' that the Opera House demands) is his communion with the crowd he is playing to and his ability to listen — something which the South London tastemaker takes to a whole new level: his mixes are small scale, chilled out and intricate. For Zero, mixing is a slow process that slowly integrates afro rhythms into his infectious, chilled out attitude. The result is self-evident: a singular, pulsating crowd that wants nothing more than to stay in his carefree, drama-free zone. Leaving Zero's dancefloor is to admit that the world is more complicated than you want it to be, but also that the world can't be as carefully structured as his music.